Editing Geyser (section)

== Major geyser fields and their distribution ==
[[File:World geyser distribution.gif|alt=Map showing that locations of geysers tend to cluster in specific areas of the world.|thumb|upright=1.35|Distribution of major geysers in the world.]]

Geysers are quite rare, requiring a combination of [[water]], [[heat]], and fortuitous [[plumbing]]. The combination exists in few places on Earth.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glennon |first1=JA |author1-link=John Alan Glennon |last2=Pfaff |first2=RM |year=2003 |title=The extraordinary thermal activity of El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile |journal=Geyser Observation and Study Association (GOSA) Transactions |volume=8 |pages=31–78}}</ref><ref name=Bryan1995/><ref name="uweb">{{cite web |last=Glennon |first=J Allan |url=http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glennon/geysers/world.htm |title=World Geyser Fields |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070630141427/http://www.uweb.ucsb.edu/~glennon/geysers/world.htm |archive-date=30 June 2007 |access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref>

=== Yellowstone National Park ===
{{Main|Yellowstone National Park|List of Yellowstone geothermal features|Geothermal areas of Yellowstone}}

Yellowstone is the largest geyser locale, containing thousands of hot springs, and approximately 300 to 500 geysers. It is home to half of the world's total number of geysers in its nine geyser basins. It is located mostly in [[Wyoming]], USA, with small portions in [[Montana]] and [[Idaho]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nps.gov/yell/naturescience/geysers.htm |title=Yellowstone geysers |publisher=National Park Service |access-date=20 March 2008}}</ref> Yellowstone includes the world's tallest active geyser ([[Steamboat Geyser]] in [[Norris Geyser Basin]]).<ref>{{cite book |title=Atlas of Yellowstone |edition=Second |publisher=University of California Press |editor1-first=James E |editor1-last=Meacham |editor2-first=Alethea Y |editor2-last=Steingisser |editor3-first=W. Andrew |editor3-last=Marcus |editor4-first=Ann W |editor4-last=Rodman |year=2022 |page=152}}</ref>

=== Valley of Geysers, Russia ===
[[File:Kamchatka Valley of Geysers.webm|thumb|right|120px|Breathing Geyser Double, Valley of Geysers in [[Kamchatka Krai]]]]
{{Main|Valley of Geysers}}

The Valley of Geysers ({{langx|ru|Долина гейзеров}}), located in the [[Kamchatka Peninsula]] of [[Russia]], is the second-largest concentration of geysers in the world. The area was discovered and explored by [[Tatyana Ustinova]] in 1941. There are about 200 geysers in the area, along with many hot-water springs and perpetual spouters. The area was formed by vigorous [[volcano|volcanic]] activity. The peculiar way of eruptions is an important feature of these geysers. Most of the geysers erupt at angles, and only very few have the geyser cones that exist at many other of the world's geyser fields.<ref name="uweb" /> On 3 June 2007, a massive [[mudflow]] influenced two-thirds of the valley.<ref name="NG">{{cite news |first=Aalok |last=Mehta |title=Photo in the News: Russia's Valley of the Geysers Lost in Landslide |url=http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070605-geyser-valley.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070617203837/http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/06/070605-geyser-valley.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=17 June 2007 |work=[[National Geographic Society|National Geographic]] |date=16 April 2008 |access-date=7 June 2007}}</ref> It was then reported that a thermal lake was forming above the valley.<ref>{{cite news |first=Luke |last=Harding |title=Mudslide fully changes terrain in Kamchatka's Valley of Geysers |url=https://www.theguardian.com/russia/article/0,,2095579,00.html |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=5 June 2007 |access-date=16 April 2008}}</ref> Four of the eight thermal areas in the valley were covered by the landslide or by the lake.<ref>{{cite report|last=Leonov|first=AV|title=Katalog osnovnykh ob'ektov v Doline Geizerov (Kronotskii zapovednik, Kamchatka)|lang=ru|trans-title=A Catalog of Main Features in the Geyser Valley, Kronotskii Reserve, Kamchatka)|year=2012|url=http://www.kscnet.ru/ivs/lggp/cat/catalogue-2012.pdf }}</ref> [[Velikan Geyser]], one of the field's largest, was not buried in the slide: the slide shortened its period of eruption from 379 minutes before the slide to 339 minutes after (through 2010).<ref name=Kiryukhin>{{cite journal|last1=Kiryukhin|first1=AV|last2=Rychkova|first2=TV|last3=Dubinina|first3=EO|title=An analysis of hydrogeological behavior in the Geyser Valley, Kronotskii nature reserve, Kamchatka after the disaster of June 3, 2007|journal=J. Volcanolog. Seismol.|volume=9|pages=1–16|year=2015|issue=1 |doi=10.1134/S0742046315010030|bibcode=2015JVolS...9....1K }}</ref>

=== El Tatio, Chile ===
[[File:ElTatioMovie.ogg|alt=Video of bubbling geyser, with sound.|thumb|right|A geyser bubbling at [[El Tatio]] geyser field]]
{{Main|El Tatio}}

The name "El Tatio" comes from the [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]] word for ''oven''. El Tatio is located in the high valleys of the [[Andes]] in [[Chile]], surrounded by many active volcanoes, at around {{convert|4200|m}} above mean sea level. The valley is home to approximately 80 geysers at present. It became the largest geyser field in the Southern Hemisphere after the destruction of many of the New Zealand geysers, and is the third largest geyser field in the world. The salient feature of these geysers is that the height of their eruptions is very low, the tallest being only {{convert|6|m|spell=in}} high, but with steam columns that can be over {{convert|20|m}} high. The average geyser eruption height at El Tatio is about {{convert|750|mm}}.<ref name="uweb" /><ref>{{cite journal |last1=Glennon |first1=JA |author1-link=John Alan Glennon |last2=Pfaff |first2=RM |year=2003 |title=The extraordinary thermal activity of El Tatio Geyser Field, Antofagasta Region, Chile |journal=Geyser Observation and Study Association (GOSA) Transactions |volume=8 |pages=31–78}}</ref>

=== Taupō Volcanic Zone, New Zealand ===
{{Main|Taupō Volcanic Zone}}

The Taupō Volcanic Zone is located on New Zealand's [[North Island]]. It is {{convert|350|km|mi|0}} long by {{convert|50|km|mi|abbr=on|adj=mid|wide|0}} and lies over a [[subduction]] zone in the Earth's crust. [[Mount Ruapehu]] marks its southwestern end, while the submarine [[Whakatāne seamount]] ({{convert|85|km|disp=or|abbr=on}} beyond [[Whakaari / White Island]]) is considered its northeastern limit.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Gamble |first1=J. A. |first2=I. C. |last2=Wright |first3=J. A. |last3=Baker |doi=10.1080/00288306.1993.9514588 |year=1993 |title=Seafloor geology and petrology in the oceanic to continental transition zone of the Kermadec-Havre-Taupo Volcanic Zone arc system, New Zealand |url=http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjgg/1993/40.php |journal=New Zealand Journal of Geology and Geophysics |volume=36 |issue=4 |pages=417–435 |bibcode=1993NZJGG..36..417G |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081122075312/http://www.rsnz.org/publish/nzjgg/1993/40.php |archive-date=22 November 2008|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Many geysers in this zone were destroyed due to [[Geothermal power|geothermal]] developments and a hydroelectric reservoir: only one geyser basin at [[Whakarewarewa]] remains.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Barrick |first=KA |title=Geyser Decline and Extinction in New Zealand—Energy Development Impacts and Implications for Environmental Management |journal=Environmental Management |volume=39 |pages=783–805 |year=2007 |issue=6 |doi=10.1007/s00267-005-0195-1 |pmid=17453282 |bibcode=2007EnMan..39..783B}}</ref>

In the beginning of the 20th century, the largest geyser ever known, the [[Waimangu Geyser]], existed in this zone. It began erupting in 1900 and erupted periodically for four years until a [[landslide]] changed the local [[water table]]. Eruptions of Waimangu would typically reach {{convert|160|m}} and some superbursts are known to have reached {{convert|500|m}}.<ref name="uweb" /> Recent scientific work indicates that the Earth's crust below the zone may be as little as {{convert|5|km|mi|0|spell=in}} thick. Beneath this lies a film of [[magma]] {{convert|50|km|-1}} wide and {{convert|160|km|-1}} long.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.stuff.co.nz/4202557a11.html |title=Central North Island sitting on magma film |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090107010456/http://www.stuff.co.nz/4202557a11.html |archive-date=7 January 2009 |first=Paul |last=Easton |newspaper=The Dominion Post |date=15 September 2007 |access-date=16 April 2008}}</ref>

=== Iceland ===
Due to the high rate of volcanic activity in Iceland, it is home to some of the most famous geysers in the world. There are around 20–29 active geysers in the country, as well as numerous formerly active geysers.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.wondermondo.com/geysers-of-iceland/ |title=Geysers of Iceland |date=5 October 2019 |access-date=8 October 2019}}</ref> Icelandic geysers are distributed in the zone stretching from south-west to north-east, along the boundary between the [[Eurasian Plate]] and the [[North American Plate]]. Most of the Icelandic geysers are comparatively short-lived. It is also characteristic that many geysers here are reactivated or newly created after earthquakes, becoming dormant or extinct after some years or some decades.<ref>{{cite web |title=Geysers of Iceland: Names, Facts, and Features |publisher=iceland.org |url=https://www.iceland.org/geography/geyser/ |access-date=27 October 2024}}</ref>

Two most prominent geysers of Iceland are located in [[Haukadalur]]. ''[[The Great Geysir]]'', which first erupted in the 14th century, gave rise to the word ''[[wiktionary:geyser|geyser]]''. By 1896, Geysir was almost dormant before an earthquake that year caused eruptions to begin again, occurring several times a day; but in 1916, eruptions all but ceased. Throughout much of the 20th century, eruptions did happen from time to time, usually following earthquakes. Some man-made improvements were made to the spring and eruptions were forced with soap on special occasions. Earthquakes in June 2000 subsequently reawakened the giant for a time, but it is not currently erupting regularly. The nearby [[Strokkur]] geyser erupts every 5–8 minutes to a height of some {{convert|30|m|-1}}.<ref name="uweb" />

=== Extinct and dormant geyser fields ===

There used to be two large geyser fields in [[Nevada]]—[[Beowawe, Nevada|Beowawe]] and [[Steamboat Springs, Nevada|Steamboat Springs]]—but they were destroyed by the installation of nearby geothermal power plants. At the plants, geothermal drilling reduced the available heat and lowered the local [[water table]] to the point that geyser activity could no longer be sustained.<ref name="uweb" />

Many of New Zealand's geysers have been destroyed by humans in the last century. Several New Zealand geysers have also become dormant or extinct by natural means. The main remaining field is [[Whakarewarewa]] at [[Rotorua]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.whakarewarewa.com |title=Whakarewarewa, The Thermal Village |access-date=4 April 2008}}</ref> Two-thirds of the geysers at [[Orakei Korako]] were flooded by the construction of the hydroelectric [[Ohakuri dam]] in 1961.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.waikatoregion.govt.nz/Environment/Natural-resources/Geothermal/Geothermal-systems-map/Orakeikorako/ |title=Orakeikorako |website=waikatoregion.govt.nz |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> The [[Wairakei]] field was lost to a geothermal power plant in 1958.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Yellowstone Supervolcano Could Be an Energy Source. But Should It? |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-yellowstone-supervolcano-geothermal-energy-debate-iceland-hawaii/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180808171546/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2018/08/news-yellowstone-supervolcano-geothermal-energy-debate-iceland-hawaii/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=8 August 2018 |date=8 August 2018 |website=Science |language=en |access-date=23 May 2020}}</ref> The [[Rotomahana]] field was destroyed by the [[1886 eruption of Mount Tarawera|1886 eruption]] of [[Mount Tarawera]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=1886 Mt Tarawera Eruption |url=https://www.waimangu.co.nz/history/eruption-birth-of-waimangu |website=Waimangu Volcanic Valley |language=en |access-date=23 May 2020 |archive-date=15 May 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200515214651/https://www.waimangu.co.nz/history/eruption-birth-of-waimangu |url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{Cite magazine |last=Klemetti |first=Erik |date=10 February 2011 |title=The 1886 Eruption of Mt. Tarawera, New Zealand |language=en-US |magazine=Wired |url=https://www.wired.com/2011/02/the-1886-eruption-of-mt-tarawera-new-zealand/ |access-date=23 May 2020 |issn=1059-1028}}</ref>